Free Traffic Legal Advice

First of all, thanks to anyone who replies! I am in scotland.

I've been charged with careless driving (verbally by PCs, yesterday morning, I have not received any paperwork yet.) After a minor incident outside my home. I rent a downstairs flat, and upstairs is an Airbnb usually block booked every week for the same work men, who usually have two large work vans on our very narrow street, with junctions relatively nearby.

I own a car and motorbike, both insured to be kept on the road (no driveway or garage etc) and usually, due to the size of the street and how awkward parking is, I would park both quite close together just out of consideration to maximise space for others. Unfortunately at one point last month when I was leaving for work (1:30am) I went out to find that their vans were parked too close for me to be able to pull out in the car. I did try knocking for quite a while as loud as I could but no one came to the door. The motorbike was behind me, but my friend and I had swapped bikes for a little while at the weekend (both insured and licenced to do so) and he had accidentally taken my keys in his pocket.I pulled it as far as I could as steering lock was on, but regardless the second van was very close to the bike so that wasn't very far. Backing up until the car was touching the bike still didn't give me enough space. Panicking about being late to work (bad anxiety) I pulled out anyway resulting in minor scratches to my car and one of their vans (I have pictures of both). I told them when they got back from work the following evening about it all, I'm not disputing responsibility here at all. Insurance etc informed and such.

Now over a month later the police arrived at my door yesterday morning to confirm details and let me know I'm being charged with careless driving due to this. I have been honest, and have not hidden anything from anyone about it. I realise legally I was in the wrong, as backwards as it might seem to me. I should have just not went to work until I could get it moved. My question is more whether the circumstances involved might help me get the lower end of the penalty, as I'm also awaiting surgery I should hopefully get soon with maybe 2 months off of work, so i'm just trying to plan financially.

Hi, so I spoke to them myself and exchanged details. There are no parking restrictions. Naively, I am realising, I was honest about it all. I did not hear anything else at all about it, I do not even know the men upstairs' names, only the company they work for (liveried van). My insurance knows but I dont know if there is a claim against me taken out at the moment, I will be phoning them again today. The police turning up was honestly, a surprise.

As I have already admitted and exchanged with the man upstairs I was honest with the police about it, although when speaking to me they made it sound like they had been told it was much more serious than it is. A couple of paint pens and you can barely tell on my car that it was ever scratched. It seems mad to me that I might get charged over this but I am accepting I did wrong in the eyes of the law and I'm just trying to get an idea of how boned I am.

Have the police actually charged you or have they simply notified you that you might be prosecuted.

I was told it was a verbal NIP, so I am assuming yes. I am just now waiting on the paperwork and what decision might be, but my understanding is that I will definitely have some consequences legally.

I dont know why it took so long for them to come and see me, so I really had started to put it out of my mind